What is the key difference between Obsidian MCP and Scrivener MCP?

Obsidian MCP belongs to the Knowledge & Memory category with local stdio execution, while Scrivener MCP belongs to the Knowledge & Memory category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Obsidian MCP or Scrivener MCP in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Obsidian MCP and Scrivener MCP free or paid?

Obsidian MCP operates under a BYOK (Pay Provider Direct) model (OAuth 2.0). Scrivener MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Obsidian MCP lists 6 tools with 2 views and 12 GitHub stars. Scrivener MCP lists 6 tools with 16 views and 52 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Obsidian MCP and Scrivener MCP together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Obsidian MCP vs Scrivener MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Obsidian MCP and Scrivener MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Obsidian MCP

Knowledge & Memory · Local stdio

Quality: 47/100 (Fair) | Auth: OAuth 2.0

Scrivener MCP

Knowledge & Memory · Local stdio

Quality: 61/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Obsidian MCP if you need specialized Knowledge & Memory tools running via a local process. Choose Scrivener MCP if your workspace requires Knowledge & Memory integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Obsidian MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: OAuth 2.0 (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
You have access to required keys: DATABASE_URL, OAUTH_CLIENT_ID, OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET, OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI, EMBEDDING_PROVIDER, OPENAI_API_KEY.
Primary tools included: Semantic and full-text search via PostgreSQL with pgvector, Atomic CRUD operations on markdown notes, Wikilink graph traversal for contextual navigation.

Explore Obsidian MCP Details

Choose Scrivener MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: .

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Obsidian MCP maxkuminov Knowledge & Memory	Scrivener MCP writerslogic Knowledge & Memory
Summary	Self-hosted MCP server for Obsidian with semantic + full-text search over PostgreSQL/pgvector, wikilink graph traversal, atomic note CRUD, OAuth 2.0, and a self-describing vault guide.	Connect Scrivener 3 writing projects to Claude and other AI assistants. 47 tools for document management, writing analysis, semantic search, character/plot memory, and content enhancement. Progressive skill loading, relationship engine with HMS triplets, and JS fallback for offline semantic search. npm i -g scrivener-mcp
Category & Scope

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Obsidian MCP Tools (6)

Semantic and full-text search via PostgreSQL with pgvector

Atomic CRUD operations on markdown notes

Wikilink graph traversal for contextual navigation

Self-describing vault guide for automatic schema and convention discovery

OAuth 2.0 authentication support

Pluggable embeddings including Ollama bge-m3 and OpenAI text-embedding-3 variants

Scrivener MCP Tools (6)

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Obsidian MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maxkuminov-obsidian-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "maxkuminov-obsidian-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "YOUR_DATABASE_URL_HERE",
        "OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID_HERE",
        "OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE",
        "OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI": "YOUR_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI_HERE",
        "EMBEDDING_PROVIDER": "YOUR_EMBEDDING_PROVIDER_HERE",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Scrivener MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "writerslogic-scrivener-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "scrivener-setup"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Obsidian MCP is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Scrivener MCP belongs to Knowledge & Memory using local stdio subprocess. Select Obsidian MCP when you need capabilities focused on knowledge & memory and Scrivener MCP when you require tools for knowledge & memory.

More alternatives to Obsidian MCP More alternatives to Scrivener MCP Knowledge & Memory category hub